Regine Schumann »colormirror rainbow wien«

colormirror rainbow wien, 2020

For colormirror rainbow wien Regine Schumann uses her preferred material, fluorescent acrylic glass. Strictly organized colored levels shine in a minimal and dramatic way, depending on the lighting conditions in the room.

In contrast to pioneers of light art such as Dan Flavin, James Turrell or Keith Sonnier, whose works appear rather static and monumental, Regine Schumann relies on the dynamic experience of her works, because they are subject to constant change. Viewed from different angles, different layers of luminous plates meet in different ways, developing a spectacular dramaturgy of space, light and color each time anew.

Bathed in black light, the compact minimalist cuboids undergo their actual transformation, drawing the viewer into their spell in a completely new way. Despite the richness of facets and the intense and dramatic luminosity, Regine Schumann knows how to create a calm and stability with her works, with an almost meditative effect.

Regine Schumann

In her work Regine Schumann (* 1961 in Goslar, Germany) focuses on light effects caused by fluorescent materials. Some of the materials she uses are colored polylight-cords and different colored acrylic panels, which she composes into complex color spaces in accordance to Goethe's theory of colors. The artist also uses black light to illuminate the objects in order to expand the range of colors many times over.

The emphasis of her room-specific installations is the extension of the existing architecture to a dimension of vibration and – as she calls it – the configuration of a room temperature. The inclusion of sculptural principles as hanging, laying, arranging, conjointing, jacketing is characteristic of the work of Regine Schumann and leads towards a thinking in colors and color spaces in a spatially experiential plasticity.

Regine Schumann studied fine art at Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig from 1982 to 1989. In 1989 she was acknowledged as a master student of Roland Dörfler. From 1986 to 1994 she was a member of the artist group Freiraum, consisting of Frank Fuhrmann, Dieter Hinz and herself. Aside of numerous scholarships (amongst others a DAAD-scholarship for Italy in 1990 and a grant from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for Japan in 2000) and contracts for public art, she received the Leo Breuer Prize in 2006. Regine Schumann lives and works in Cologne.

Read our story with Regine in her studio.

Photos: Eberhard Weible, Damian Rosellen (portrait)